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Morrissey Allegedly Threatens to Cancel Show Over Double Bill

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UPDATE: Representatives from Morrissey’s camp wrote in to Pitchfork with a statement that reads: “Morrissey had nothing to do with this. As long as there was no sound bleed, Morrissey was completely fine with another show going on inside the same complex.”

All was not quiet on the Western front last night, after Morrissey allegedly threatened to cancel a show in Santa Ana, California, at the Observatory. And the demands impacted two other bands playing at the same venue, PAWS and We Are Scientists.

The thread of this behind-the-scenes power struggle over an overlapping double bill became public after PAWS made some Facebook posts protesting the demands of Morrissey and the shared venue. The posts have now been deleted, but Consequence of Sound details the first post from the band, starting with the band’s claim that, “Morrissey is currently trying to have our slot at tonights [sic] show in Santa Ana, California cancelled because he is playing in another room in the same venue and wishes for their [sic] to be no other artists performing in his vicinity.”

Pitchfork captured other now-deleted posts from PAWS that allege Morrissey’s manager called them to yell, “I am the boss of you!” and clarifying that the rumble was over Moz’s worry that the sound would bleed if the two bands were playing at the same time, albeit in different rooms in the venue.

The rub, it seems, was the venue’s curfew, which would not allow PAWS to play at all and would allow only a short set from We Are Scientists. PAWS alleged that they were “essentially getting paid not to play.”

In the end, an deal was reached that allowed all the bands to play that night, with some shuffled set times. Morrissey nor his camp have commented publicly and We Are Scientists seem to have gotten in the last word, via Twitter.

Turns out the reason @itsmorrissey doesn't want competing noise is that it might clue people into what singing in tune sounds like.